Moderator: Heidi Beatty, CEO, Crown Abbey
Jean Pascal Hirt, Cosmetic sur Support Director, L’Oréal
Silke Brand-Kirsch, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development, Glatfelter
Vincenzo D’Acchioli, Sustainability Director – Hygiene, Health & Specialties EMEIA, Berry Global
Phillip Mango has spent almost forty years in nonwovens, starting in 1981 with Air Products and Chemicals, where he was the Manager of the Nonwovens Group. Air Products was the major supplier of latex binders to major nonwovens used in wipes, notably airlaid and DRC (double recrepe). In 1991, he left Air Products to join Walkisoft USA as Director of Technology. Walkisoft was the largest global producer of airlaid at that time. Sensing a need for a more innovative, specialty oriented airlaid producer, Mr. Mango started his own airlaid business and designed and built a specialty airlaid line in 1997. This company, Airformed Composites, was one of the early developers of commercial multibonded airlaid for baby wipes, as well as other unique products and process advances. In 2000, Concert Industries acquired Airformed Composites and Mr. Mango. With Concert, Mr. Mango was the Director of Product Development. In 2002, Mr. Mango left Concert to start his own consulting business, Phillip Mango Consulting, LLC. Over the last 18 years, Mr. Mango has consulted extensively in the wipes market, technology, nonwovens and raw materials. He has authored numerous studies on flushable wipes, the global wipes market and technology, and other nonwovens related subjects.
Martin Henderson is a technical manager at Rockline Industries Ltd, supporting their UK and European customers on surface care & moist toilet tissue product development. He has been with the business for 6 years and has a background in Chemistry
Seán Kerrigan is the Communications and Media Relations Director for EDANA, the international association representing the nonwoven and related industries, a position he has held since March 2017.
Based in Brussels, Seán is responsible for developing the internal and external communications activities to promote understanding and awareness of nonwoven products. Seán also manages communications programmes designed to promote specific sectors or products and also EDANA events. Seán manages several of the association’s Working Groups including the Communications & Advocacy SG, the Automotive WG, the Wet Wipes WG, the Durable SG and assists many other groups which there is a need for communications or PR support.
Before his role with EDANA, Seán managed global corporate communications projects for BDO Global in Brussels from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this, Seán managed communications projects for a variety of clients including The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Embassy of India - Belgium, Agrium Europe and Sinergy Communications .
Heidi Beatty has a successful track record as an Innovator and project manager. Over her 20+ year career, Heidi has launched products for some of the world’s leading brands as well as for some of the most entrepreneurial start-ups. As CEO of Crown Abbey, Heidi and her team helps a global client base across consumer, health care and nutritional categories to identify and commercialize new technologies.
After gaining a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of York, UK, Heidi worked with Johnson & Johnson for over 10 years across Europe and the US. From there, she has worked at both mid-size companies as well as start-ups, before founding Crown Abbey, nearly 6 years ago.
Heidi speaks & moderates at many conferences on a variety of topics, including women’s health products, innovation and project management tools.
Jason Finnis is a 30-year veteran of the hemp and natural fibre industries with hands-on experience in all aspects of the value chain. He has a strong background in fibre innovation and is adept at developing intellectual property that leverages the inherent qualities of bast fibres and brings performance and sustainability to the nonwoven and textile industries. Current Board member of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance
Jan O’Regan is Director, Nonwovens Marketing for Cotton Incorporated. In this capacity she works to uncover new opportunities for cotton to bring value to non-traditional market applications. This work includes leading efforts in strategy, marketing, business and technical development across global supply chains.
Professionally, Jan has many years of varied business experience, particularly in nonwovens and technical textiles. She has managed efforts in strategic business units in consumer and industrial markets, working with regional, national, and global teams.
Jan earned a BS in Textiles and Business, from Penn State, an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and continued her executive education through Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Ashish Jajoo is the ‘President and Global Sales & Marketing Head’ for Nonwoven category – Birla Cellulose (part of Aditya Birla Group). Ashish has 18 years of experience in sales and marketing across industries like Paints, Retail, Apparel and now fibre. He has been in the current role for more than a year now. In the current role he is driving the new product development to leverage the opportunities presented by changing business environment, apart from the day today business. He completed his MBA from University of Delhi in India – in the year 2001.
Electronic Engineer background with a 30 years’ experience in packaging, ranging from labelling to flexible packaging.
Always focused on Value Innovation projects to create new solutions, anticipating market trends and creating growing business differentiation & profitability
Lynda Kelly holds the position of Senior Vice President Americas & Business Development at Suominen Corporation. She has a long breath of experience in nonwovens with leading positions at First Quality Nonwovens and International Paper.
I have worked in Nonwovens & specifically in wipes for 20 years.
Started my career in Ahlstrom in 2001 transitioning to Suominen at the time of the acquisition.
Moved to Jacob Holm in 2018 & joined Berry in Dec 2020.
I have performed both Key Account & Product Management roles during my career in wipes.
I have a breadth of experience from dry & wet wiping for the professional market to wet wipes for multiple consumer applications.
Mr. Thomas Weigert joined the Go Wipes advisory board to provide his broad machinery, process and application knowledge of nonwoven production.
Since 1997 he is working at Trützschler Nonwovens, the former Fleissner GmbH, in Egelsbach near Frankfurt/Germany, who is one of the leading suppliers of nonwoven production lines and machinery.
For almost 20 years in various positions he gained wide experience in the design and development of nonwoven production equipment and also in the technological requirements for nonwoven substrates. Today in the position as Director Application Technology Mr. Weigert holds technological responsibility for Fleissner AquaJet, Through Air Drying and Wetlaid Spunlace (WLS).
Mr. Weigert got his degree in mechanical engineering at Darmstadt Technical University in August 1989 and started his professional life in the design and development of automotive brake systems before entering into the nonwoven industry.
• Profession: Engineer degree in Mechatronics and electrical Engineering, master’s degree in business administration
• Previous company: 2012 - 2020 at WILO SE in various positions, last function as Group Director for the Strategic Sales Management and Business Development
• Current position: Since 12/2020 at ANDRITZ Nonwoven as Sales Director Nonwoven (Spunbond and Wetlaid) in Krefeld, Germany
Bodo Heetderks, Director Technology-R&D
Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers GmbH, Egelsbach (D)
Educational background
Apprenticeship as industrial technician, NINO AG, Nordhorn
Studies, Dipl.-Ing. Textile Production, FH-Niederrhein, Mönchengladbach
Short professional career:
1996-2007 Graf Holland BV, Enschede, Sales Manager
2007-2015 Trützschler Nonwovens, Dülmen, Manager Technology Nonwoven Web Forming
Since March 2015, Trützschler Nonwovens Group, Director Technology-R&D
Michael Trinkaus is a chemist by education. After he graduated from RWTH Aachen, Germany, in 1999, he started his career as a scientist and product designer at P&G, with subsequent assignments in Materials Development, and Process & Engineering, with global responsibilities in the P&G’s wipes and baby diaper businesses. In 2018, after 19 years of experience with P&G, he joined Mondi as Director of R&D and Innovation PCC. His main responsibilities include coordination of all R&D efforts for Mondi’s Personal Care Components business (films, laminates, nonwovens), Intellectual Property, as well as Product Safety.
His understanding of both sides – the product producer’s and the supplier’s – are a unique asset and great benefit for Mondi
A passionate and motivated undergraduate student in the final year of her studies at the Department of Architectural Engineering at the University of Patras, Greece, Anastasia Gkika has already shown a capacity for great achievements. She co-founded the company GKRICEL in 2019, its main purpose being the creation of special prints and applications for product labels and/or promotion labels. Her interest in packaging design led to the creation of the resealable cover label entitled "Multi-layer covers with detachable segment and method of their production", a patented invention referring to closures or covers of containers which has also received a positive research report from WIPO. She is multilingual in Greek, English and French, and has a basic knowledge of Japanese.